Patent Grant
8304176
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a liquid ejection head that ejects liquid. More preferably, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head that performs recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium to be recorded.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of using a liquid ejection head that ejects liquid is an ink jet recording method that performs recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium to be recorded. An ink jet recording head applied to the ink jet recording method generally includes fine ejection orifices, a liquid flow path, and multiple energy generating elements that are provided in a part of the liquid flow path for generating energy to be used for ejecting liquid. A conventional method of manufacturing such ink jet recording head is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-314371.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-314371, first, a flow path forming member whose sensitivity is lowered by adding an optical dye is placed on a substrate on which the energy generating elements are formed. Then, images of bubble generating chambers are formed up to a deep portion of the flow path forming member with high dosage exposure, and images of ejection orifice portions are formed from an upper layer to an arbitrary deep portion of the flow path forming member with low dosage exposure. Further, an unexposed portion of the flow path forming member is eluted to form the bubble forming chambers and the ejection orifices.
According to the above-mentioned manufacturing method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-314371, the height of the bubble generating chambers is controlled by an exposure amount, and the bubble generating chambers and the ejection orifices are formed in one material. Therefore, the height of the bubble generating chambers cannot be controlled with high precision. Further, the ejection orifice portions are patterned with an exposure amount at which spaces to be the bubble generating chambers are not cured, and hence, a sufficient exposure amount cannot be used, which may cause the flow path forming member around the ejection orifice portions to be cured insufficiently. Therefore, the ejection orifices may be deformed by long-term printing.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a liquid ejection head in which the shape of bubble generating chambers is not varied depending upon an exposure amount, and a flow path forming member can be cured with a sufficient exposure amount so that the durability of the flow path forming member is high.
The present invention provides a method of manufacturing a liquid ejection head, the liquid ejection head including: a substrate having an energy generating element that generates energy for ejecting liquid; and a flow path forming member having, on an upper side of the energy generating element, an ejection orifice for ejecting the liquid, and a bubble generating chamber communicated with the ejection orifice, the method including: preparing a negative photosensitive resin as a material constituting the flow path forming member; and performing first exposure treatment for forming a first image constituting a side wall of the bubble generating chamber and second exposure treatment for forming a second image constituting a side wall of the ejection orifice so that a side wall of the first image and a side wall of the second image cross each other diagonally.
Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail in accordance with the accompanying drawings.
Both the ejection orifices 5 and the bubble generating chambers 11 are formed on an upper side of the energy generating elements 2. The side wall of each of the ejection orifices 5 is formed so as to diagonally extend upward from a side wall upper end of the bubble generating chamber 11 toward an upper end opening (hereinafter, referred to also as ejection orifice opening) of the ejection orifice 5. That is, the side wall of the ejection orifice 5 and the side wall of the bubble generating chamber 11 are formed continuously, and the ejection orifice 5 and the bubble generating chamber 11 are formed so that the lower end opening of the ejection orifice 5 and the upper end opening of the bubble generating chamber 11 have the same area. The ejection orifice opening is formed above the energy generating element 2 so as to correspond thereto.
In this specification, the upper side refers to the direction in which the opening of the ejection orifice is present, and the lower side refers to the direction in which a surface of the substrate opposite to a surface thereof on which the flow path forming member is placed is present.
The liquid is supplied from the liquid flow path 3 to the bubble generating chambers 11. In the bubble generating chambers 11, the liquid is subjected to the action of ejection energy generated by the energy generating elements 2 to be ejected out of the ejection orifices 5.
The side wall upper end of the bubble generating chamber 11 is formed on an upper side of an upper wall of the liquid flow path 3. Further, the side wall of the bubble generating chamber 11 is formed substantially in a perpendicular direction. That is, the side wall of the bubble generating chamber 11 is formed in a direction substantially perpendicular to a plane direction of the substrate 1. Then, the side wall of the ejection orifice is formed at an angle with respect to the direction perpendicular to the substrate and crosses the side wall of the bubble generating chamber 11 formed in the direction perpendicular to the substrate 1 in the flow path forming member 4. With such a configuration, the lower surface of the ejection orifice 5 and the upper surface of the bubble generating chamber 11 have the same area, and the bubble generating chambers 11 can be formed with a stable height, thereby obtaining a liquid ejection head with high durability of ejection orifices.
Further, as illustrated in
The side wall of the ejection orifice is formed so as to diagonally extend upward from the side wall upper end of the bubble generating chamber and so that the horizontal cross-section (cross-section taken along a plane parallel to the plane direction of the substrate) of the ejection orifice becomes smaller toward the ejection orifice opening. The shape of the cross-section of the ejection orifice perpendicular to the plane direction of the substrate is, for example, a trapezoid, as illustrated in
In the present invention, a negative photosensitive resin is used as a material constituting the flow path forming member. As the negative photosensitive resin, for example, a cation-polymerizable photocurable resin can be used.
As used herein, an image is generally called an optical image, and refers to a region in which the shape of a mask is projected onto a material three-dimensionally by irradiation through the mask. In this specification, a region in which light is blocked by a mask is referred to as an image. That is, because a negative photosensitive resin is used as the flow path forming member, a portion to be dissolved in a development step after exposure is referred to as an image.
In the present invention, as described above, the flow path forming member of the liquid ejection head is formed so that the side wall of the ejection orifice and the side wall of the bubble generating chamber cross each other diagonally. That is, the side wall of the ejection orifice 5 is formed so as to diagonally extend upward from the side wall upper end of the bubble generating chamber 11 to the ejection orifice opening. In order to form the ejection orifice and the bubble generating chamber as described above, exposure treatment is performed twice in the present invention. For example, first, first exposure treatment for forming a first image constituting the side wall of the bubble generating chamber is performed. Then, second exposure treatment for forming a second image constituting the side wall of the ejection orifice is performed. At this time, by performing the second exposure treatment so that the side wall of the first image and the side wall of the second image cross each other diagonally, the side wall of the ejection orifice can be formed so as to diagonally extend upward from the side wall upper end of the bubble generating chamber to the ejection orifice opening. After that, development is performed to remove an unexposed portion. Further, the order of the first exposure treatment and the second exposure treatment is not limited to the above-mentioned order, and the first exposure treatment may be performed after the second exposure treatment. Thus, the order is not particularly limited.
At least a part of the side wall of the first image formed by the first exposure treatment becomes the side wall of the bubble generating chamber. That is, it is also considered that the side wall of the bubble generating chamber is formed by the first exposure treatment. Further, at least a part of the side wall of the second image formed by the second exposure treatment becomes the side wall of the ejection orifice. That is, it is also considered that the side wall of the ejection orifice is formed by the second exposure treatment.
Hereinafter, a method of exposing a negative photosensitive resin to light so that the side wall of the bubble generating chamber formed by the first exposure treatment and the side wall of the ejection orifice formed by the second exposure treatment cross each other diagonally is described by way of embodiments of the present invention.
(Embodiment 1)
This embodiment shows a method of forming a concave portion that functions as a concave lens in a negative photosensitive resin so as to refract incident light to allow the side wall of the ejection orifice to have an angle with respect to the direction perpendicular to the substrate. The concave portion functioning as a concave lens is formed by exposing the periphery of a portion to be a lens to light, and baking the negative photosensitive resin at a softening point of the resin in an uncured state, thereby causing the deformation so that the resin density is increased only in an unexposed portion. The depth of the concave portion at this time varies depending upon the conditions such as the coated film thickness of the negative photosensitive resin, the area of a concave lens to be formed, and the bake temperature. The concave portion becomes deeper as the coated film thickness is larger, the area of the concave lens is smaller, and the bake temperature is higher. In this embodiment, the depth of the concave portion is, for example, 1 to 10 μm. The cross-section of the concave portion has a shape similar to a parabola and can be approximated satisfactorily with a catenary curve.
Hereinafter, this embodiment is described in detail with reference to
First, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
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Next, as illustrated in
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Next, as illustrated in
After that, in order to cure the flow path forming member 4 completely, heat treatment is performed, and then, electrical connection and liquid supply unit are provided appropriately to manufacture a liquid ejection head.
In this embodiment, first, the side wall of the bubble generating chamber is formed by the first exposure treatment, and then, the side wall of the ejection orifice is formed in a diagonal direction by the second exposure treatment.
(Embodiment 2)
This embodiment shows a method of allowing the inside of a negative photosensitive resin to have an imaging position of a pattern at a time of exposure for an ejection orifice and allowing the side wall of the ejection orifice to have an angle with respect to a direction perpendicular to the substrate.
In projection exposure, an image of a mask is projected with the same dimensions of the mask at an imaging position. The image of the mask is blurred around the imaging position, and hence light enters the inner side (covered side) of the covered mask pattern to expose the inner side. By allowing the inside of the negative photosensitive resin to have an imaging position of the ejection orifice pattern, an image of the ejection orifice becomes maximum inside the negative photosensitive resin, which is the imaging position and an image is blurred on the surface layer positioned above the imaging position. Therefore, the image of the ejection orifice is exposed to light in a smaller range than the covered mask pattern. Thus, exposure is performed so that the area of the ejection orifice becomes larger as being closer to the imaging position inside the negative photosensitive resin from the upper layer thereof, and an image to be the side wall of the ejection orifice spreads toward the imaging position, to thereby provide the side wall with an angle with respect to the direction perpendicular to the substrate. The angle at this time varies depending upon the absorption and sensitivity with respect to the exposure wavelength of the negative photosensitive resin, and NA and δ of an exposure device.
Hereinafter, this embodiment is described in detail with reference to
First, in the same way as in Embodiment 1, a substrate 1 on which a flow path pattern 7 and a negative photosensitive resin 4′ are formed is prepared.
Next, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
The exposure light is allowed to have an angle with respect to the direction perpendicular to the substrate, and thus, the side wall of the ejection orifice can be formed in a diagonal direction. In the figure, a side wall 10′ of the second image is illustrated. Of the side wall of the second image, a side wall portion in a diagonal direction becomes the side wall of the ejection orifice.
Next, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
After that, in order to cure the flow path forming member 4 completely, heat treatment is performed, and then, electrical connection and liquid supply unit are provided appropriately to manufacture a liquid ejection head.
In this embodiment, first, the side wall of the bubble generating chamber is formed by the first exposure treatment, and then, the side wall of the ejection orifice is formed in a diagonal direction by the second exposure treatment. However, the first exposure treatment may be performed after the second exposure treatment. That is, as illustrated in
Further, in this embodiment, it is preferred to use a negative photosensitive resin with high sensitivity having an absorbance with respect to an exposure wavelength. Light entering the inner side (covered side) of the ejection orifice pattern covered with a mask has smaller light intensity compared with other incident light. Therefore, a negative photosensitive resin with low sensitivity is dissolved in a development step without being cured with the light. However, a negative photosensitive resin with high sensitivity can be cured with light entering the inner side. As a method of enhancing the sensitivity of the negative photosensitive resin, there is known a method in which a photosensitizer having an absorbance with respect to an exposure wavelength is added to the negative photosensitive resin. As a preferred embodiment, a photosensitizer is added, which has the function of increasing sensitivity in a range of 0.03 to 0.07/μm of an absorbance of the negative photosensitive resin with respect to the exposure wavelength. By setting the absorbance with respect to the exposure wavelength to 0.07/μm or less, the absorption in the surface layer of the negative photosensitive resin is prevented from increasing to enhance the sensitivity too much, and the ejection orifice can be prevented from being closed in the development step. Further, by setting the absorbance with respect to the exposure wavelength to 0.03/μm or more, a desired shape can easily be formed.
Hereinafter, examples of the present invention are described.
In this example, an ink jet recording head was manufactured by the steps of
First, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
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Next, as illustrated in
Then, the substrate 1 was heat-treated at 90° C. for 4 minutes and developed with xylene/methyl isobutyl ketone=6/4 as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
After that, in order to cure the flow path forming member 4 completely, a heating process was performed at 200° C. for one hour. Then, electrical connection and an ink supply unit were provided appropriately to manufacture an ink jet recording head.
In this example, an ink jet recording head was manufactured by the steps of
First, an ink flow path pattern 7 was formed on a substrate 1 in the same way as in Example 1. Then, a resin composition 4′ shown in Table 2 was applied onto the ink flow path pattern 7 to a thickness of 40 μm from the substrate 1 and then heat-treated at 90° C. for 3 minutes.
Next, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
After that, the flow path forming member 4 was cured completely, and then electrical connection and an ink supply unit were provided appropriately to manufacture an ink jet recording head.
In this example, an ink jet recording head was manufactured using the steps of
First, an ink flow path pattern 7 was formed on a substrate 1. Then, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
Then, an ejection orifice 5 and a bubble generating chamber 11 were formed in the same way as in Example 2. Further, after the ink supply opening 6 was formed, the ink flow path pattern 7 was dissolved and removed and the flow path forming member 4 was cured completely. Electrical connection and an ink supply unit were provided appropriately to manufacture an ink jet recording head.
In this example, an ink jet recording head was manufactured by the steps of
First, an ink flow path pattern 7 was formed on a substrate 1 in the same way as in Example 1.
Next, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
Then, after the lower flow path forming member 4a and the upper flow path forming member 4b were cured completely, electrical connection and an ink supply unit were provided appropriately to manufacture an ink jet recording head.
For comparison, an ink jet recording head was manufactured in which the area of the lower surface of an ejection orifice was different from the area of the upper surface of a bubble generating chamber. This comparative example is described with reference to
First, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
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(Evaluation)
The cross-sectional shapes of the ejection orifice and the bubble generating chamber of each ink jet recording head manufactured in the above-mentioned examples was observed to confirm that the connecting portion between the ejection orifice and the bubble generating chamber was formed with the same area.
In the ink jet recording head manufactured in the comparative example, the exposure amount for forming the ejection orifice was small, and therefore, the flow path forming member was not cured sufficiently, and the shapes of the bubble generating chamber and the ejection orifice were deformed in the development step. Although the deformation was prevented by increasing the exposure amount, a desired height of the bubble generating chamber was not obtained.
On the other hand, in the ink jet recording heads manufactured in the above-mentioned examples, even when the ejection orifice was patterned with an exposure amount required for curing, the shape of the bubble generating chamber was not changed largely. Thus, it was confirmed that the bubble generating chamber and the ejection orifice were able to be manufactured with high precision.
The ink jet recording heads manufactured in those examples were filled with black ink, and printing was performed with respect to A4-sized recording sheets continuously. A state of high printing quality was maintained even in long-term printing.
According to the configuration of the present invention, the bubble generating chamber can be formed without changing the shape thereof depending upon an exposure amount, and a liquid ejection head with high durability of orifice portions can be manufactured.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-188425, filed Aug. 25, 2010, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-188425 | Aug 2010 | JP | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6447102 | Chen et al. | Sep 2002 | B1 |
| 7985532 | Horiuchi | Jul 2011 | B2 |
| 20030087199 | Kim et al. | May 2003 | A1 |
| 20040008239 | Kubota et al. | Jan 2004 | A1 |
| 20060172227 | Shaarawi et al. | Aug 2006 | A1 |
| 20070059531 | Park et al. | Mar 2007 | A1 |
| 20070076053 | Hart et al. | Apr 2007 | A1 |
| 20080309733 | Horiuchi et al. | Dec 2008 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 11-314371 | Nov 1999 | JP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20120047736 A1 | Mar 2012 | US |
